It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown review

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown; the classic seasonal book by Charles M. Schulz is back in a hardcover, oversized, keepsake book. This will be one of the largest books in your children’s library both literally and figuratively. It is cut from the same vein as It’s a Charlie Brown Christmas that was released in the same format in 2017 and both could easily be mandatory editions for their library.

Just before you get to the story, on the third actual page in the book there’s a blank form where kids can claim the book. This Book Belongs To…and it’s here where you write down the name of your child. Any book geek who’s been to a thrift store knows that joy and pain of finding a great book that’s already been ‘claimed’.

Number one, it’s a great book that I’m buying at 80% of the original retail cost. So that’s great for me or whoever ends up buying said fabulous book. Number two, assuming that it really is a great book, why did mom or dad let that book go to the dreaded (or loved) giveaway stack? In our case, it’s the dreaded giveaway stack. However, our wife is a purger, so anytime she can have things exit the house it’s akin to birds singing a happy song in formation over the front door.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will never leave our house and for Peanuts fans it won’t leave their house either. This is the somewhat lesser-known seasonal Peanut’s story that is Linus centered. The normal things are happening with Lucy not allowing Charlie to kick the ball, the leaves are falling and Sally in love. Depending on his mood, Snoopy is either headed to a costume party or on his way to fight the Red Barron.

At the heart of the book is Linus and his eternal optimism that the Great Pumpkin will visit him in the pumpkin patch. This is a belief that we’ve all felt at one point in our lives for something. You just know it’s true or correct and all you need is one person to believe you.

The art is the book is gorgeous. The blacks in the pumpkin field are in stark contrast to a purple sky and yellow moon. The text is laid in a semi-transparent what box with inlaid pumpkins and vines on the edge. Peanuts purists will say that the artwork isn’t original to the show and they might be correct. However, it’s so close to scene perfect that newer audiences won’t mind and it’ll still carry this classic story on through the next three generations.

This is a great edition of the book to have because of its sturdy hardback construction. The pages are on thicker than average semi-gloss paper and its size is great for kids who are reading along or reading it by themselves. It’s The Great Pumpkin; Charlie Brown is worth having in your library if you’re a casual Peanuts fan.  For those that really dig Snoopy and the gang you’ll certainly want to have this and it’ll be read numerous times in October and throughout the year as well.